Creating a custom, interactive end slate (A.K.A. tail slate, outro, end screen) for the end of your YouTube videos is something that I recommend in all of my talks and to all my clients looking for best practices in YouTube marketing. They offer a great way to drive awareness and views to your other video assets, increase engagement and subscribers, and using interactive annotations along with it can also help with rankings in search. Custom end slates can also be used to reinforce your brand or even take the focus away from YouTube’s default related videos end screen.

On this week’s Creator’s Tip, Tim demonstrates how we create our outro slates for videos on the ReelSEO channel.

Benefits: How to Use Custom End Cards for YouTube

Typically the way we use outro slates is to annotate to previous videos we’ve done. The subscribe button will generally be there and people can listen to the end of the show while it’s fading out. This is important because, YouTube is paying more and more attention to how much time videos contribute to people’s overall viewing session on YouTube. If your video can do more to send more views and more traffic to your other videos, then your videos will rank better in search and do better for audience retention.

Additionally, viewers may be more inclined to click on subscribe when they are reading some of the titles. They may think to themselves, “This channel is making other good content.” Even if they don’t click on some of the other videos, they’re more likely to subscribe because they have a glimpse of some of the other videos you’ve done.

How to Create a Custom, Interactive YouTube End Slate

Although we use Adobe CS6 Premier Pro to create our outro, you should be able to achieve the same effect with any other decent video editing software with the exception perhaps of iMovie and Windows MovieMaker.

First off, be aware there are numerous different layers. The bottom layer should be the background. If you turn the visibility off, you will see that the background goes away. If you turn that visibility back on it appears again.

The next layer can be the titles of all your video clips and continues all the way up to the logo. The visibility of each layer can be turned on and off.

If you’ve worked with layers before, you know the way it works is it starts with the top layer and you look down through all these layers. If you want to move the layers around, you can do it until you get each layer in the position you want it. Now you know what you want on your layers, and you’re ready to start.

Use key frames. You’ll probably want to start with 100% scale for the position to be nice and centered. Select the frames you want, and key frame them.

Find where you want it to end. This is probably going to be at around 43%. If you remove these key frames, you would see that it would just stay on top of all of your other stuff. So you want it to get smaller.

Move the frames where you want it to end. You’ll have them the right size, but in the middle.

Move them to the place you want them.

Go to your effects. Keep moving them by dragging them where you want them. Then zoom them in until they fit in the area.

Add your titles underneath.

At the end of your video, be sure to freeze about 15 frames so that when you add the pause annotation your video does not look like it jerks.

YouTube End Card Template:

Here’s a link for you to download a template that we’ve created for our YouTube Outro – http://rseo.co/Ubt8xQ

Hopefully this will help you think of some neat ways to create a custom end slate for your videos and increase engagement, views, rankings and more…

QUESTION: What other creative ways can you think of to use a custom outro or end slate on YouTube videos?

Dealer Video Production Is The Best Agency For Car Dealerships - 2017 Demo Reel

Dealer Video Production has a state-of-the-art video production studio in house, manned by a team of seasoned video production specialists, filmmakers, editors, sound engineers, animators, and designers that can help you bring your vision to reality. We specialize in full-service productions, taking your vision from the storyboard stage all the way through to post production and optimization of the videos for web and television.

As an employee of Dealer Synergy and Dealer Video Production, I recently faced a very unique situation when our company brought on a new client for a monthly video production package. We were given the opportunity to film our first broadcast television commercial and the client was specific in what they were looking for: they envisioned cinematic, aerial shots that can only be accomplished by using a state-of-the-art Drone camera.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past two years, I am sure you have heard the term “Drone” being used on a regular basis. A Drone is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard, operated remotely with a control. The technical term used by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAV, and Small Unmanned Aircraft System, or sUAS. Whether you are a Sales Associate, General Manager, or even Dealer Principal with the urge to fly, it is important to understand the new rules that have come into effect when using a Drone for commercial purposes.

Before purchasing a Drone yourself, you should do plenty of research on the available models and sort out which is the best for your situation. If your dealership is looking to produce basic video content, then I personally recommend purchasing a Parrot Bebop Drone. This prosumer-grade Drone is a solid beginner model for someone who wants to start taking their video strategy seriously but lacks ample video experience. Though the price tag may be a bit daunting to some, it’s a far safer bet than purchasing any one of the low-priced Drones that sit behind the counter of your local drug store.

Given the current marketing trend with these magical devices, there’s a good chance that if your dealership does video advertising, it may have already employed a production company to shoot Drone footage capturing the car lot or storefront. However, if you want to undertake this operation yourself, then there are a number of rules and resources to consider. This article will examine the basic laws and functions of a UAV that everyone should have a general understanding of before cruising one over their dealership.

Some things you will learn from this article:

The most recent law passed by the FAA on personal and commercial Drone use.

How you can register your Drone online for use.

The resources for obtaining a certification from the FAA to use your Drone commercially.

Tips and tricks for operating a Drone in a safe and effective manner.

As of August 29, 2016, the FAA has passed a new rule (Part 107) regarding Drone operations both personally and commercially. The first and most important thing to do when you purchase a new Drone is to register your device with the FAA before you even attempt to fly. Any consumer or semi-professional level Drone that weighs between .55 lbs and 55 lbs must be registered through the official FAA website (https://registermyuas.faa.gov/). The owner of the Drone is fully responsible for going to the website and paying a $5 service fee. However, if you are hiring a production company to film with their own Drone, then it isnotyour responsibility to have the Drone registered.

If you or someone from your dealership owns a Drone and plans to use it for commercial purposes, including digital marketing on the web, then the remote pilot must pass a FAA sUAS Knowledge Test to legally operate the Drone. This knowledge test is a 60 question multiple-choice examination that is conducted at a participating airport in your region. It is very similar to a driving test or a CDL test; you will pay a one time fee of $150 that is non-refundable if you fail the test. In order to pass the test, you must score a 70% and finish within the allotted time of two hours.

After you pass the test and are ready to fly your Drone, there are some key safety tips that you must follow in order to ensure safe flight.

You MUST pay attention to the weather patterns(clouds, wind, precipitation)before you fly. Fierce winds can lead to a wayward Drone and potentially damaged property.

Always check with the FAA on the B4YOUFLY application(available for iOS & Android)to make you are that not flying in an restricted airspace. Failure to do so could lead to major legal issues.

If you are within five miles of a public or private airport, you MUST contact the airport or the traffic control tower to notify them you will be flying within their airspace.

Be aware of your surroundings and watch out for birds, trees, aircrafts, and power lines, or anything else that could collide with your device and leave unfortunate results.

Operate your Drone the same way that you would operate an automobile. DO NOT fly the Drone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

DO NOT try to “SHOW OFF” your skills by flying in dangerous areas, like closed-in spaces (particularly a dealership showroom). You are essentially controlling a small helicopter and should treat it the same way that you would a full-scale one.

Despite the overwhelming level of caution that one must take when flying a Drone, the resulting footage that can be captured makes the whole process worthwhile. Countless dealerships are using Drone footage today to improve their commercial presence, and it shows in the dynamism of their content. If you master the art of Drone flight, you can take your dealership to the next level and use it to impress your customers and competition.

However, if you’re uncertain about spending the money on a Drone and want to get an idea for how the footage looks and can be applied, then I recommend hiring a professional organization to shoot it for you.

Dealer Video Production is certified in Drone operation and uses the DJI Inspire V2 on a constant basis to provide the best video content for their clients across the continent. If you have any questions about Drone use or would like to inquire about Dealer Video Production’s Drone services, please contact us atdealervideoproduction@dealersynergy.comor call (856) 546-2440 x29.

In this week's Episode of Make Money Mondays Dealer Synergy's President, Sean V. Bradley gives us advise on adjusting to the phenomenon that is mobile. Everything you create should by built for mobile first. Content from your website to your email templates should be designed with a mobile first mentality. Mobile is rapidly growing so you should test your content to make sure it functions properly on different devices.

Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - The Mobile Experience

To visit all of our Make Money Mondays in one place visit: www.MakeMoneyMondays.net

If you like Make Money Mondays, you will love Bradley On Demand: http://www.BradleyOnDemand.com/ 856-546-2440

For more information about Dealer Synergy, visit http://www.DealerSynergy.com/

Sign up now for the next Internet Sales 20 Group! http://internetsales20group.com

If you have any questions, call or text Sean on his cell 267-319-6776.

1 in 3 adults in the U.S. watches auto content on YouTube once per month!

Consumer behavior is changing—and video is leading the drive

In years' past, a consumer might have read reviews in magazines, asked friends and relatives for advice, and visited any number of dealerships before settling on a vehicle. That practice has gone the way of the in-dash tape deck.

Leveraging YouTube and Search, consumers are positively bingeing on digital content before making their purchases—and multiplying opportunities for marketers to be there in shoppers' which-car-is-best moments. Last year, consumers spent on average three hours more time researching than they did in 2013.8 They also performed 75% of that research on digital.9

All that research has huge ramifications for the brick-and-mortar showroom. With shoppers armed with so much information, dealerships have moved from being places to shop and explore—as they were in the days of in-dash tape decks—to mere points of sale. The average in-market shopper makes just two visits to a dealer before making a purchase.10

There's no substitute for sliding into the driver's seat, but consumers increasingly turn to YouTube before a test drive. In fact, one in three adults in the U.S. watches auto content on YouTube once per month.11 Research shows that consumers are gravitating particularly toward five video styles: test drives, walk-around, feature highlights, reviews, and safety tests.12 Mobile video particularly drives in-market consumers to take action; after watching content about cars, trucks, or racing on a smartphone, one in four will visit a dealer.13

Last year, consumers spent on average three hours more time researching than they did in 2013, and performed 75% of that research on digital.

These tendencies highlight an opportunity to attract viewers to brands' official channels. Mercedes-Benz recently responded to audiences' research behavior with a suite of videos that scratched viewers' walk-around itch, as well as offering feature demos of its redesigned E-Class sedan.

Takeaway: As a resource to whittle down a car shopper's consideration set, video is invaluable. Consider creating content around the five popular video styles (test drives, walk-around, feature highlights, reviews, safety tests), which allows shoppers to research by simply hitting play, and make sure it's optimized for mobile. Mercedes-Benz's example illustrates how marketers can be there in shoppers' which-car-is-best moments in creative, digital-first ways.

EXAMPLE of an AWESOME Video Email Template for the "End of The Month". Dealerships should be creating a Video Email Template Library and programming their CRM action plans to deploy automatically. Remember a video in an email increases "read open rates" 200-300%

If you feel as though your auto dealership marketing is beginning to flat line, it may be time to mix it up and try something new.

Shaken not stirred: 7 ways to mix up your auto dealership marketing

Make your brand more exciting

Branding is the starting point for all your marketing efforts. Without a strong brand name, logo, and message, it’s difficult to catch the eyes and ears of customers. Even an excellent marketing campaign suffers if the brand doesn’t have that extra “oomph!”.

If you’ve had your dealership name for some time, it’s okay to keep it (in fact, that may be a better idea). You canmake your brand more engaging and interesting without a complete overhaul.

Create a byline for your brand. A short message that communicates your “promise” to customers. That message creates a common theme for the rest of your marketing efforts.

Hire a professional designer to create a new logo.

Optimize your blog content

Search engine optimization (SEO) is not a new trend. Most dealership GM’s and managers are familiar with PPC advertising, targeting keywords, and the goal of ranking higher in Google. But, there is another way to marketing your business using SEO techniques, and, believe it or not, it’s all about your blog.

You can target specific keywords within your blog content. Each piece of content you publish effectively turns into a landing page for your dealership, drawing more targeted traffic to your website.

Hire a professional content writer to write SEO’d content for your blog each week.

If you are using a generic CRM tool, think about switching to one that offers features specifically tailored to dealerships. AutoRaptor is made by car sales professionals, for car sales professionals. Every feature is intuitively designed to help your salespeople work more efficiently.

Lead assignments within the software tool.

Send text messages and phone calls with no additional carrier charge.

Complete mobile capability with unique features, such as license and VIN number scanning.

Daily workflow reminders.

Focus on mobile readers

Many of your customers view your website, emails, and inventory with mobile phones. If you haven’t already, it’s time to ensure that all of your digital content is responsive to mobile devices, including tablets. Content that is not easily readable on mobile screens is losing you conversion opportunities.

Design all of your auto dealership marketing with mobile browsers in mind.

Think about how your content is read: make your email messages short and to the point. Mobile readers will skim and scan before they decide to read.

Modernize your website experience

Get your website up to snuff, in other words. In terms of digital marketing (or perhaps all of your auto dealership marketing), your website is the most important piece of the puzzle. It’s the virtual doorway to your dealership. Your leads will pass through to view your inventory, read your content, and get a feel for how you do business. What will they see?

Hire a web designer to give you a new, sleek look. Make your website look attractive, fun, and engaging.

Make sure to build links to all your pages so Google can index them correctly.

Include pictures of the salespeople with short bios and contact information.

Build your opt-in lists

Converting your web visitors into qualified leads is a step-by-step process. Gaining an email address is easier if you offer something free in return, such as an e-book, white paper, redeemable coupon, etc. This is one of the main methods of inbound (or permission-based) marketing.

At the bottom of your web page is an offer to download your entire library of video content.

To download the content, he needs to provide an email address and/or phone number.

He provides his information and is added to your opt-in marketing list.

You sent out automated messages (email drip campaign) offering more useful content.

After a few messages, you sent out a targeted promotion based on his vehicle search and behavior.

He responds, comes into the dealership, and now your salespeople have a qualified lead.

Segment and personalize

Finally, if you want your marketing to provide effective ROI, you need to target specific groups and personalize your efforts. The “spray and pray” techniques do not work like they used to. People want to have a personal connection to your dealership. They will not respond to vague, objective, or generic marketing material.

For better results, segment your marketing lists into specific groups and demographics. Use your research and tracking tools to see what they’ve viewed, what vehicles they’re interested in, and what promotion would best attract their attention.

Give your auto dealership marketing a regular dose of new ideas and methods

Every dealership needs to mix up their marketing efforts on a regular basis. Of course, if something is working well, there is no reason to try and change it. But, if you see that your “go-to” tactics are starting to flat line, use these tips to diversify your marketing mix. Remember: your internet marketing is a critical aspect of your overall strategy. Give your website the attention it deserves and build up your inbound marketing sales funnel.

What’s your opinion? Do you have any marketing tips to add? Share your thoughts!

In this week's Episode of Make Money Mondays Special Edition, Allyn Hane, Digital Marketing Director at Coastal States Automotive Group talks about creating your very own video strategy on Youtube. Allyn runs a successful Youtube channel called "The Lawn Care Nut". He gives us advise and techniques he personally used to grow his own channel. You have the opportunity to use or rent someone else's community or audience. With these tips you can build a Youtube channel from scratch.

The human race has a stunning tendency to add more and more new words to its vast vocabulary; this trend has apparently become more active in the last decade than any before it. Among the most popular made-up phrases are verbs of the Internet age -- Googling, in many circles, has become one of the most common. Quickly rising over the horizon is one for Google’s child program and world-famous time killer, “YouTube-ing”.

On the Android market alone, the YouTube app has just north of 9 million downloads -- and counting. So if over 9 million people across the planet are using YouTube as their number one source of videos (and let’s be honest, who isn’t?), then for automotive sales professionals, it’s far beyond recommended that you post whatever business-related videos you can.

That being said, you have to be careful with how you use the platform, as it can be either your best friend or your worst enemy. Here are two of the biggest dos and don’ts when uploading your work to YouTube...

DO: Take Advantage of YouTube’s Editing Program

Let’s face it: it’s hard to make most cell phone footage look good. Even with the iPhone 6 and its unbelievable ability to capture 4k video footage (for those not film-savvy, 4k footage is pretty much the pinnacle of digital beauty), it’s still hard to make any ordinary video visually appealing. Shakiness, poor lighting, and lackluster audio are abound on any ordinary phone clip.

Luckily, the brains over at YouTube came up with “in-house” editing programs back in 2010 that help users either polish or cut their projects, ideally for the better. This process certainly helps forgo the need for modern video editing software like Final Cut Pro and Sony Vegas, which can be expensive and require hours and hours of training.

Should you upload a video to YouTube and notice that the image is dark, desaturated, or in need of some pizzazz, then you can go to town on the ‘Enhancements’ page. To access this, enter the ‘Video Manager’ tab under the ‘Creator Studio’ page and click the ‘Edit’ button next to your video, followed by the ‘Enhancements’ button on the following page.

Under ‘Enhancements’, you can adjust the video’s Fill Light, Contrast, Saturation, and Color Temperature. With Fill Light, you can increase the brightness of any murky footage, whereas Contrast will give your video a deep, cinematic quality, Saturation will emphasize the colors or take them away, and Color Temperature will give your footage either a blue or a yellow tint.

In addition to the ‘Quick Fixes’ tab, you can add a variety of tones in the ‘Filters’ tab or blur out faces in the ‘Blurring Effects’ tab. This section is essentially your one-stop-shop for enhancements to really carry your video to the next visual level.

If you plan to edit together one or more personal uploads, or even create a montage, the YouTube Video Editor has a number of features that can add copyright-free stock footage and music, flashy transitions, text elements, and personal images and photos. With all of these easy-to-use features, any automotive sales professionals can cut together a video with an intro, outro, name card, and cutaway clips. These tools will come in handy when reaching out to a customer and needing to make a solid first impression.

DON’T: Let YouTube Stabilize Your Video

You’ve seen it a hundred times: whenever you upload a mildly unstable video clip, YouTube gives you a highlighted prompt that says it has detected shaky footage and offers to “correct” that issue. Sure, your first thought is almost always going to be “if YouTube wants to improve my video, why not let them?” but in reality, that gift horse is loaded with a few too many Trojan soldiers, convinced that they’re doing the right thing.

Rather than turning shaky footage into a smooth, crisp, visually-appealing shot, the YouTube stabilizer overcompensates in its abilities and tries its best to wrangle the crazy horse with the worst rope imaginable. The footage comes out in a more drastic state, often looking twitchy, frantic, and sometimes excessively warped -- which means that no one will want to watch it. But what happens if you already accepted the invitation to stabilize and can’t change it back?

Good news: you can. Two ways, in fact. By accessing the ‘Enhancements’ feature, you can click the ‘Revert to Original’ button and click ‘Save’ to keep the original look of your upload. The alternative method is (in the same editing page) to click the division line that separates the ‘Original’ and Preview’ portions in the video preview window and drag it all the way to the right, thus showing only the ‘Original’ portion, then save.

Before you immediately race to YouTube and save your videos from embarrassment with these two methods, please bear in mind: if you added any filters or adjustments to the same clips, they too will vanish. Remember to look before you leap, folks, lest you should have to go back and try to match the precise changes that you made before.

Above all else, I cannot stress enough that what goes on the Internet stays on the Internet. Be mindful of what you are putting into cyberspace, be it content- or quality-wise. Even the simplest mistake can offset a customer and turn them into a brick wall. Listen to the content, make sure the shots are clean, and that the audio is intelligible. And for the love of all mankind, keep it tasteful. Laziness and unprofessionalism can slam a door faster than you can say “Jack Robinson”.

Most Up To Date Statistics State That Car Dealerships Need A Video Strategy - 2015 Video Is The Most Powerful Tool For A Car Dealership. A dealership or dealer group can utterly crush the competition and have an unfair advantage in their market by having a video strategy. This video has the most up to date video statistics. Most businesses do not have a video strategy. Here are the areas that a dealership needs to focus on for video: - Video Search Engine Optimization - Video Emails - Video Conferencing - Video for Website(s) - Video for Social Media - Comparison Videos - How to videos - Videos for CRM - and so much more!

Here is an example of a Dealership's Value Package Proposition (Why Buy From Us). It is essential that a dealership clearly articulate "WHY" someone should buy from their store. Price is PNLY relevant with the absence of value.

Dealer Synergy's Video Production team created RK's VPP. If you would like Dealer Synergy to produce Video Content, call me at 267-319-6776-

Order "Win The Game of Googleopoly" Book and Unlock The Secret Strategy Of Search Engines!

Rank higher in search results with this guide to SEO and content building supremacy Google is not only the number one search engine in the world, it is also the number one website in the world. Only 5 percent of site visitors search past the first page of Google, so if you're not in those top ten results, you are essentially invisible. Winning the Game of Googleopoly is the ultimate roadmap to Page One Domination. The POD strategy is what gets you on that super-critical first page of Google results by increasing your page views. You'll learn how to shape your online presence for Search Engine Optimization, effectively speaking Google's language to become one of the top results returned for relevant queries. This invaluable resource provides a plan that is universal to any business in any industry, and provides expert guidance on tailoring the strategy to best suit your organization. Coverage includes an explanation of the mechanics of a search, and how to tie your website, paid ads, online reputation, social media, content, images, and video into a winning SEO strategy that pushes you to the front of the line. The Page One Domination strategy incorporates all the ways in which you can beef up your Internet presence and online reputation. This book is a clear, straightforward guide that will knock down the silos of the Internet and teach you exactly how to integrate all aspects of content creation into a synergistic, SEO strategy. Understand how search engines return results Design an effective, all-encompassing SEO strategy Create the content that gets page views and improves rank Optimize social media and video as part of an overall SEO plan The rules of SEO are always changing, and following outdated rules can actually work against you, burying you at the bottom of the pile. This book will spark a paradigm shift in how you think about SEO and gives you the tools you need to craft a strategy tailored to your specific market. To be successful, you need to be on page one of Google, and Winning the Game of Googleopoly can show you how to get there.

NADA recently released a new report stating U.S dealerships are a major player in the economy’s recovery. This is due to the fact that dealerships added jobs and paid above average wages. Additionally, they provided earnings growth each week. The fundamental findings that solidified the results were as follows:

• Weekly earnings were higher for the majority of Private Sector Businesses. Typically employees earned 25% more than the previous year.

• 47 percent of new hires were Gen Y. Generation Y is defined as individuals who were born between 1980s-early 2000s which make up 27 percent of dealership employees – also known as “Millenials”

• Work-life balances have been improved because many dealerships scheduled employees to work less than 45 hours a week.

• The Gender Gap is slowly closing, with 17.7 percent of new hires being women – more than the previous year.

This has been a HUGE deal for the economy and you can read the full report here.

Dealer Synergy is proud to have both its CEO, Sean V. Bradley, and General Manager, Joe Cala speaking at the upcoming NADA/ATD Convention in San Francisco.Sean’s presentation is titled “Video: The Most Powerful Tool for Your Truck Dealership.” This is HUGE because 78 percent of people are watching videos once a week. In fact, YouTube is the number 2 search engine in the world, behind Google.

To give you an idea of just how big this is, by 2017, 90 percent of Internet traffic will be video based. Present day, 55 percent of people watch a video daily. In fact, if you have a video on your website, people are 64 percent more likely to buy your product. In his presentation, Sean will break down just how much of an impact video can have on your dealership with regards to testimonials, sales, and beyond.

Joe will be speaking about the importance of getting better before getting bigger. He will discuss how important it is to make your brand better, strengthen your team, and standardize your processes before concentrating on growing your business. If you focus on being better first, your customers will come to you, and your business will ultimately grow.

Sean’s speaking dates:1/23/2015

1/23/2015 10:30am - 11:45am 121N 1/24/2015 10:15am - 11:30am 122N

Joe’s speaking dates:

1/22/2015 12:15pm - 1:30pm 3001W1/24/2015 10:15am - 11:30am 3018W

Don’t miss your chance to see Sean and Joe speak at the biggest conference of the year! NADA runs from January 22nd -25th in San Francisco. Register today!

Video is one of the most powerful tools a dealership can use to establish strong communication, captivation, clarity, rapport and build trust. Here is an example of a dealership using "Real Time" Video communication via Apple FaceTime with a Service Customer and the Service Writer! Forrester Research says that 1 Minute of video is equivalent to 1.8 Million written words! I am going to repeat that… 1 minute of video = 1.8 Million words! You can use real time video communication to enhance the experience a prospect or a client has with a dealership. This example is for the Fixed Ops department, but real time video communication with resources like Skype, Google Hangouts and Apple FaceTime also have massive potential with new and user car prospects as well as clients!
Is your dealership truly leveraging real time video communications? If not… Why Not? Senior Citizens are using Skype to communicate with their Grandkids… shouldn't you and your dealership use it to communicate with your prospects and clients? If you would like more information on real time video communication or if you would like me to assist you and your dealership, call me on my cell at 267-319-677 or email me at sean@dealersynergy.com